The inspection program was started in 1965 in response to a rapid rise in highway accidents. When a car is inspected, a technician looks at tires, wiper blades, headlights and other safety equipment. But there’s no good data, Samberg said, that shows whether failures with that sort of equipment have contributed to any large number of accidents.

“If it’s not effective, we should eliminate it,” said Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Davidson County Democrat and House majority leader. Holliman said the inspection program had outlived its usefulness.

The discussion in the mainstream media and on political blogs about who will run the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has included a long list of names from current Secretary Bill Ross to former Secretary Bill Holman to Robeson County businesswoman Freda Porter-Locklear.

It has also been a reminder of the power dynamics in Raleigh. Reportedly, one reason so many names have been mentioned for Secretary of DENR is that the business community has reservations about most of the candidates suggested by the environmental community to head the state's environmental agency.

I'm safely returned from a whirlwind trip to Asheboro and Stenchville. In the former I learned that the Goodyear plant bid their employees adieu until next year. In the latter I spoke with a father of two little ones who has been on half-time since June and was laid off today until the new year. He's getting by cleaning cars and doing odd jobs.

Via NC Policy Watch: North Carolina state government and its many counties and municipalities have a long history of trying to lure employers through outright payments and tax breaks. A new study suggests that incentives ain't all they're cracked up to be.

According to today's edition of O-No!, the Powers that Be are increasingly looking at the so-called VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) tax as a way to offset declining gas tax revenues.

Talk of a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax has long been discussed as a necessity in a decade or so, because cars are becoming more fuel efficient, and states and the federal government are losing gas-tax revenue.

But there is now a sense of urgency about the new VMT tax. When gas hit $4 a gallon this summer, Americans sharply curtailed their driving. And when the economy cratered this fall, the driving rollback continued, even when gas prices plummeted.

Today at noon, at the historic Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina's 15 Democratic electors will meet to formally cast our state's votes for president and vice president. I encourage everyone to come, either in person or virtually. If you can't make it to the Capitol, there will be televised proceedings at the Museum of Natural Science. For those who aren't near the area at noon, you can view the proceedings on the Secretary of State's website. I believe there is also a reception at 2pm at the Party HQ.

Public Policy Polling has released a poll with a hypothetical head-to-head match up between Senator Richard Burr and N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper. If the election were held today it appears that Roy Cooper would run away with it.

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